Limitless Potential
by StanQuagsire
Summary: X/Zero, 50 one-sentence fics.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I have recently rediscovered the love I had for this series as a teen, and felt inspired enough to write some fic for them. I'm starting with one of these "50 sentences" style stories, simply because they're a way to let me play with characterization without worrying about a cohesive plot yet. These sentences follow both the X and Zero continuities, and aside from a few (those that end with ... and the one after) they don't necessarily follow each other, aside from being in the same timeline of events. Hope you all enjoy them!

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#01 - Ring

Metal glides over metal, robotic hands grasping as though waiting for the ring to disappear.

#02 - Hero

X takes the title with some reluctance, despite never seeking it; Zero refuses it, pushes it away every chance he gets.

#03 - Memory

During his longest nights, X lets his stored memories play at random, smiling through his tears as he remembers an embrace, over far too soon, from a red figure he'll never see again.

#04 - Box

Every time they defeat Sigma, X packs his armor away, vowing to never wear it again; every time, Zero stops himself from telling X it wont be the last time he opens that box.

#05 - Run

Never has Zero moved faster than when he saw X in Vile's clutches.

#06 - Hurricane

Wind crashes around Zero like a robot-made hurricane, and Zero's pride in X is matched only by his fear that it won't be _enough._

#07 - Wings

"My new armor lets me fly… want to join me?" X asks shyly, holding one hand out to Zero.

#08 - Cold

"Least you have all that hair to keep you warm," X teases, shaking a fistful of Zero's hair gently.

#09 - Red

Red is the color of fire, of warmth, of life, of _Zero, _and X always tries to keep as much of it in his room as he can, so he'll always have a reminder of the other Reploid.

#10 - Drink

"X, please, just try," Zero all but begs, holding an E-tank to X's semiconscious form.

#11 - Midnight

One arm around X's waist, one on X's cheek as they stare into the sky; it's the perfect way to start a new year.

#12 - Temptation

"You could stay with me," Zero murmurs, nuzzling X's neck as X wakes up.

#13 - View

Stars adorn the night sky, painting a positively idyllic picture, but Zero's favorite thing to see lies directly in front of him, clad in blue armor and holding on to the windowsill.

#14 - Music

"I just… really like this band," Zero says, shrugging as he hangs up a new poster, and X immediately makes a note to listen to their album as soon as he can so he can share this with Zero.

#15 - Silk

"Smooth as silk," X hums, fingers running through Zero's blond locks.

#16 - Cover

Zero doesn't hesitate when he pushes X to safety first, even when it's against the other Reploid's objections…

#17 - Promise

Not even when X reminds him of their promise to never let anything separate them again…

#18 - Dream

Because if only one of them can live, Zero wants X to have the chance to see the peaceful world he fought for for so long.

#19 - Candle

After facing Sigma for the fifth time, with grief fresh in X's heart, X takes to bringing a candle to Dr. Light's hologram every week, and the pair sit in contemplative silence.

#20 - Talent

"I used to think I was only good for destroying things… but you've taught me otherwise," Zero whispers to a sleeping X.

#21 - Silence

Every time X goes to Zero's room, the silence taunts him.

#22 - Journey

From Cyberspace, X watches Zero's journey come to an end, heart filled with a strange mixture of sorrow at the other's demise, and selfish joy at the realization that Zero is finally returning to him.

#23 - Fire

Fire can destroy, but it also brings warmth and hope, just like Zero.

#24 - Strength

X's small form is no match against the crushing strength of Vile's ride armor, and Zero feels his rage explode as Vile dares to lay a hand on a Reploid he isn't even worthy of sharing air with.

#25 - Mask

Zero knows when an "I'm okay" from X is the truth, and he knows when it's just a cover for X's deeper emotions.

#26 - Ice

"You'll never hurt Zero again, Sigma," X whispers, voice so frosty that he almost expects to be able to see the breath that carries the sound.

#27 - Fall

Zero has a bit too much fun catching X, enjoying the rare chance to make a show of his affection for the smaller Reploid.

#28 - Forgotten

"Here lies Zero: gone, but never forgotten," the tombstone reads, but it's incomplete, X thinks, without, "especially by X" or something similar underneath- something, anything to remind the world of the sacrifice Zero made for him.

#29 - Dance

Bodies press together, hands clasped, foreheads touching, deep contentment on their faces and soft whispers barely entering the air; so obvious is the couple's utter joy that Axl hates himself for the news he's about to deliver.

#30 - Body

"I don't care how many I have to destroy, Sigma- you were doomed the second you touched X!"

#31 - Sacred

Watching X's body explode from Elpizo's attack feels as devastating as watching the destruction of a holy temple…

#32 - Farewells

But feeling X's spirit fade away into Cyberspace is even worse…

#33 - World

And facing a world without Mega Man X is agony; a constant stream of salt flying into Zero's wounds.

#34 - Formal

"How the hell are you supposed to find a tux for a damned Reploid?" Zero groans, smacking his head against a wall.

#35 - Fever

"I didn't want to scare you," X says weakly, sinking into his bed.

#36 - Laugh

Zero doesn't do it easily or often, at least not since Iris, so every time X manages to coax that sound from him, it's a proud accomplishment.

#37 - Lies

"I'll never leave you again, X."

#38 - Forever

Every second one is without the other, it feels like a terrifying lifetime of bitter loneliness.

#39 - Overwhelmed

Zero never thought he'd hear someone say they loved him- just hearing those words for the first time makes him torn between laughing and crying.

#40 - Whisper

"Just relax, X… go back to sleep… no one will hurt you now…"

#41 - Wait

Even watching a purple cloud of Sigma Virus form over the Earth, X can't, _won't_, bring himself to seek shelter until he sees Zero safe and sound again.

#42 - Talk

"Captain X, Sir?" a young gofer says uncertainly, his report forgotten by X the instant Zero walked into the briefing room.

#43 - Search

Zero knows X well enough to know when to pull him off their search for survivors after the latest Maverick attacks.

#44 - Hope

"As long as I have this saber…" X whispers, reverently placing the blade in a new sheathe he made.

#45 - Eclipse

Grief hangs over X like a shadow that never goes away; like a black hole that won't let even a single photon escape…

#46 - Gravity

And the weight of it crushes X's soul until he doesn't think he has one anymore.

#47 - Highway

"How many more times, Zero?" X whispers, staring at the destruction in front of him.

#48 - Unknown

Zero isn't afraid of dying; he's only afraid of an uncertain future.

#49 - Lock

The better X gets at locking away his emotions, the more Zero starts to worry he's been a bad influence on X.

#50 - Breathe

Sometimes, X stops his respiration systems and stares at the sky, wondering if this is what Zero feels like all those years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: My attempt at writing a fic for NaNoWriMo failed. So to make up for my failure, I wrote another set of 50 sentences.

I decided to challenge myself as well by having each sentence be only dialogue, and as a result I've stretched the limits of "one sentence", as everyone does when writing these things. Heh. Hopefully none are too horribly blatant run-on sentences or anything, and still work as something one person might say as one sentence.

Sentences 38 and 39 pair together, and sentences 41 to 50 are sequential as well. I worry it might be too OOC for MMZ-era Zero, given his stoicism, but when I can I like to imagine an AU where his memories eventually come back, and I feel like if his memories returned, he'd regain his emotions with them.

Well, that's enough of me worrying about this and that with writing. Otherwise I'll never post it. So here goes. Hope you all like it! Sorry NaNo was a bust- I'll try again next year, and hopefully at some point I can post the fic I was trying to write too.

Enjoy!

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#01 - Comfort

"You did fine, X, I promise."

#02 - Kiss

"When I kissed Iris, I always- I kept thinking about you, but I never knew why-"

#03 - Soft

"You're the only one who doesn't treat me being soft as a bad thing."

#04 - Pain

"Alia, this is X- Zero- Zero's-"

#05 - Potatoes

"Zero, I'm fine, Double is small potatoes compared to Iri- okay, okay, I'll stop!"

#06 - Rain

"You always shake your head like a cat when you get wet."

#07 - Chocolate

"You taste far better than anything a human could make."

#08 - Happiness

"They kept asking me why I was smiling, and I had no idea, until now."

#09 - Telephone

"That was Dr. Cain; I'm sorry, X, he isn't doing well."

#10 - Ears

"Oh, you're sensitive here, too..."

#11 - Name

"You… you're X… I'll destroy you!"

#12 - Sensual

"That feels so _good_, Zero…"

#13 - Death

"Light-hakase... 'I'll never die' is what I wanted to tell X, but I couldn't say that, and I didn't want to worry him either… so I just told him I had to lay low until the auto-repair kicked in."

#14 - Sex

"I- ah- never thought I'd do this with you!"

#15 - Touch

"You want to swing it more like this- let me show you."

#16 - Weakness

"I don't want to see you abandon kindness, because your big heart is your greatest strength; but I worry because it's also your greatest weakness."

#17 - Tears

"You really cried when you thought I was dead?"

#18 - Speed

"Was I fast enough this time, Zero-senpai?"

#19 - Wind

"When you air-dash, you look so happy, like a bird."

#20 - Freedom

"You're the only one who lets me just be me."

#21 - Life

"I'd sacrifice myself a hundred times for you if I could, X, because… because… you're better than me, better than _any_ of us!"

#22 - Jealousy

"What did Iris want to tell you?"

#23 - Hands

"I was never afraid of you, even when I knew you scarred Sigma, because I knew there was a different you who was just trapped inside a Maverick."

#24 - Taste

"Your lips are so sweet…"

#25 - Devotion

"I'm not leaving this room until I know you're completely repaired!"

#26 - Forever

"I'll always have a part of Zero with me, Alia, as long as I have this saber."

#27 - Blood

"The way he stabbed your chest- when I woke up, it looked like you were _bleeding_!"

#28 - Sickness

"I can't promise you that, because I'd still love you even if you went Maverick."

#29 - Melody

"You can cry, you can sing- you're so many things other Reploids aren't, and I love that about you."

#30 - Star

"You always call me the sun, but the stars are just as important, even if they're farther away, and they're a lot more beautiful than the sun too."

#31 - Home

"Have you ever thought about asking for an exemption so we can live off base?"

#32 - Confusion

"And then you shot me, and when I woke up, I couldn't actually tell if it was a nightmare or not until I touched my chest and didn't find a hole there…"

#33 - Fear

"I don't know what I'd do if you died, but I'm terrified of finding out."

#34 - Lightning/Thunder

"Thunderstorms always make me think of that thing you did with your saber last time we fought Sigma."

#35 - Bonds

"Mac didn't hurt you, did he X?"

#36 - Market

"A Maverick attacked some humans at the shopping mall, and I haven't heard from Zero since he went in an hour ago- X, wait, you can't-"

#37 - Technology

"You know, the day we found you, and we couldn't analyze your code, I knew you were special…"

#38 - Gift (Continues from #37)

"And then you proved me right, because every minute we've spent together since then has been a gift."

#39 - Smile

"I don't mind fighting, because peace makes X happy, and I like when X is happy."

#40 - Innocence

"It's strange, Doctor Cain- how can X be so innocent and naive but such a good Hunter?"

#41 - Completion

"X… I don't know where Cyber-Elves go when they die, but if you can hear me… I promise I won't stop until the world is safe."

#42 - Clouds (Continues from #41)

"These memories keep coming back to me, all relating to you- I remember you saying something about the clouds having shapes…"

#43 - Sky (Continues from #42)

"I remember us looking at the sky together when the sun was setting, and we must have retired a Maverick together because I think something was burning far away…"

#44 - Heaven (Continues from #43)

"I remember you asking me what happens to Reploids when they die, and me not caring enough to answer-"

#45 - Hell (Continues from #44)

"And I'll wish for the rest of my life that I had said _something_ to set your mind at ease, because I think it was really important to you, and I should have just _tried_-"

#46 - Sun (Continues from #45)

"You were so important to me, you were like the sun- I said that once to you, didn't I?"

#47 - Moon (Continues from #46)

"I know I did, and you said you felt the same way about me, that I was like the moon-"

#48 - Waves (Continues from #47)

"And I remember that, and then I feel- I get this wave of grief inside me-"

#49 - Hair (Continues from #48)

"I even felt it today, when I was brushing my hair of all things; it felt like there was something _missing _and it was so awful, and I wish you were here to fix it…"

#50 - Supernova (Continues from #49)

"But you're gone, the sun's gone, and it's all just a black hole- I really miss you, X."


End file.
